Oceania 7s

Fiji wins Oceania 7s

The Gareth Baber-coached side defeated New Zealand 17-7 in its last match at Townsville in Queensland.

The national side was the only unbeaten team in the competition.

“We’ve played some good stuff and have been ordinary at times but we know that there’s always stuff to work on but we scored a good bag of tries and that’s what we’re always after and continue to work on our shape and quality of defense,” said Baber.

Hooker Iosefo Masi, Jiuta Wainiqolo and Meli Derenalagi scored a try each.

Oceania Sevens for 2020 cancelled

The announcement follows confirmation last week that the Sydney and Hamilton legs of the World Sevens Series have also been axed.

Oceania Rugby General Manager Bruce Cook said scrapping the November tournament was unfortunate but the right decision, with the health and well-being of the players, officials and public their top priority.

Australia completed a clean sweep of the men's and women's Oceania titles in Suva last year, with the Australian men and Fiji women sealing qualification to the now delayed Tokyo Olympics.

Oceania 7s: Double gold for Aussies in Suva

It was a double delight for the Aussie men, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a 19-12 win over Samoa earlier yesterday.

Both sides came from behind to win their finals against Fiji's teams.

The Aussie women trailed 12-0 in their championship final against FIjiana and stormed home with a 24-0 second-half to claim the gold medal.

That victory came after two wins over New Zealand in as many days, a huge boost of confidence for a young team.

Tonga and Samoa stand in Australia's sevens qualifying path for Tokyo

Australia can secure passage to Tokyo 2020 at the Oceania Sevens by winning their section of the tournament, where Tonga and Samoa shape as their two biggest hurdles.

A strong Australian squad will play Vanuatu and Nauru on Thursday before games against American Samoa and Tonga on Friday and if they both top their pool, a likely Olympic play-off against Samoa on Saturday.

The already-qualified New Zealand and Fiji will also play in Suva, but not against Australia until the Olympic quota spot has been decided.

Oceania 7s to include deaf tournament

The tournament aims to encourage equal opportunities for Women’s rugby and Deaf rugby across the Pacific region and beyond.

In a statement, Oceania Rugby Competitions Manager Wayne Schuster said they are excited about the inclusion of the Oceania Rugby Deaf tournament.

The category will feature International Deaf teams from Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.

The Canadian Women’s team and the Japan SDS Men’s and Women’s team will feature in this year’s format including Oceania’s Vanuatu Women’s team, who will feature in their first international rugby outing.